英语专业学生写作中母语迁移对动词词汇搭配影响

1、摘 要母语迁移作为英语学习过程中不可避免的现象，已经成为二语习得领域中颇受争议的话题之一。本论文将在母语迁移，错误分析的理论基础上，做进一步的实证研究。作者搜集了同年级三个班近90名学生的作文，经过认真批改后研究了其中由于汉语迁移所导致的错误。并对其中典型的动词词汇搭配错误进行实例分析，以证明在英语写作中母语迁移对动词词汇搭配的影响。最后，作者尝试结合自身专业英语学习及研究的心得体会，提出英语写作学习及教学方面的建议。关键词：写作；母语迁移；动词搭配ABSTRACTAs an inevitable phenomenon in the field of second language acqui

2、sition, language transfer has become a controversial topic in this field. The author will conduct an empirical research based on the theory of first language transfer and error analysis. After a careful study of 90 compositions, the author analyzes errors caused by first language transfer. Typical e

3、xamples will be carefully selected and analyzed to prove that first language transfer has an impact on verbal lexical collocation. Finally, the author tries to give some proposals based on a combination of her English learning experience and research.Key words：writing; first language transfer; verba

4、l collocation71 / 24文档可自由编辑打印Contents1Introduction11.1 Research Background11.2 Significance of the Study21.3 Method of the Study21.4 Organization of the Thesis32. Language Transfer42.1 General Studies on Language Transfer42.1.1 Contrastive Analysis52.1.2 Inter-language62.2 Cultural Transfer63. Verba

5、l Collocation83.1 General Studies on Verbal Collocation83.2 Lexical Collocation93.3 Grammatical Collocation103.4 Corpora based collocation104. Empirical Study124.1 Overall Design124.1.1 Defining Errors124.1.2 Error Analysis134.2 Subjects134.3 Data Collection and Analysis144.3.1 Writing Assessment144

6、.3.2 Data Analysis144.4 Suggestions for teaching and learning165Conclusion17Acknowledgements18References191Introduction1.1 Research BackgroundA lot of researches have approved that first language plays an important role in second language acquisition. Gass and Selinker thought that researches on the

7、 effect of first language are actually the studies of language transfer, which refers to a psychological process of transferring ones previous learning experience into a new environment. According to Odlin, research on language transfer refers to “an influence caused by differences between target la

8、nguage and any other languages”1279. Ke Ping has mentioned in his work that language transfer has two forms: positive transfer and negative transfer. According to some typical examples, language transfer means errors and mistakes made by language users when they try to use a similar pattern from the

9、ir first language to express ideas in target language. When Chinese English learners want to express “hei mian bao” or “hong cha” in English, they would often say “black bread” and “red tea”. However, both of them are not equivalent expressions in real English235,36. Lado (1957) has come up with a g

10、oal for contrastive analysis, i.e. “a contrastive analysis of two languages and cultures could help find out difficulties when learners try to acquire another language” 32. Its a pity that Lados suggestions failed to get enough attention. He himself ignored the initial goal which aimed to analyze cu

11、ltural influence during his research. Recently, people have been aware of the importance of contrastive analysis on culture. But their researches are more or less constrained on theories. A research on the cultural background of language is really difficult to handle. Zhang Gongjing and Ding Shiqing

12、 have co-audited the book Cultural Linguistics. In this book, they highly praise an advanced sensibility of the Chinese. Due to some social and cultural reasons, a culture craze has been heated since 1980s. Zhang Gongjing and Ding Shiqing have co-audited the book Cultural Linguistics. A new thought

13、called cultural linguistic has since been created413. Claire Kramsch also think that language has an inseparable and complex relation with culture53. Various linguistic phenomenon appear in English major students compositions. Researchers have done analyses on them. Lin Xinge has conducted a researc

14、h on Chinese students English writing skill adopting corpora linguistics. Zhang Zhongyue, Hong Yiming and Liujuling have done researches on impact of first language transfer on writing from aspects of compensation hypothesis, inter-language, contrastive analysis and markedness theory. Huang Juan has

15、 introduced lexical approach into writing teaching and then conducted an applied research. 1.2 Significance of the StudyWriting is one of the four basic skills in learning English. For low proficiency students, writing can be a most difficult part to finish during the exam. However, for high profici

16、ency students, the case is totally different. The reason for this difference lies in the fact, according to a study made by Ji Xiaoli in 2006, that high proficiency students have more second language input. In other words, they are less influenced by their first language6 10.Studies on non-English m

17、ajors writing often focus on word-level. While studies on English majors writing often focus on sentence, paragraph and structure. However, according to a statistic review of TEM4 and TEM8, testers have bigger problems in language accuracy. So in this study, English majors writing accuracy will be e

18、xamined. Specifically, the study will focus on first language transfer on verbal collocations.1.3 Method of the StudyEnglish freshmen students will be asked to write a composition in no more than 1.5 hours. The topic of their composition is given“Are More Choices Better?” After recollecting their co

19、mpositions, all of their compositions will be corrected by the author. The author will manually record their errors concerning verbal collocation influenced by first language transfer. And then the author will do a case study on typical errors. As mentioned before, cultural influence has long been i

20、gnored, so the case study here will mainly discuss cultural transfer on verbal collocation.1.4 Organization of the ThesisThe thesis includes five chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to the topic of the research including research background, significance of the study and method of th

21、e study. The second and third chapter reviews the study of language transfer and verbal collocation. The fourth chapter is a report on empirical study of the research. The fifth chapter contains a conclusion and a discussion of the research. 2. Language Transfer2.1 General Studies on Language Transf

22、erA great deal of language learning and teaching in the 1950s and 1960s was influenced by the tenets of behaviourism. In this view, foreign language learning is seen as a process of imitation and reinforcement: learners tend to copy what they hear, and establish a set of acceptable habits in the new

23、 language by regular practice. Properties of the first language are thought to exercise an influence on the course of second language learning: learners transfer sounds, structures and usages from one language to the other. A widely used typology distinguishes two kinds of transfer 7376. Similaritie

24、s between the two languages cause “positive transfer”: it proves acceptable to use the first language habits in the second language setting. On the contrary, differences cause “negative transfer”, generally known as “interference”: the first language habits cause errors in the second language. For e

25、xample, Chinese students often omit the mark of plural form: Wrong: We are grateful for your interest in our product. Right: We are grateful for your interest in our products816.Such mistakes can often be seen in Chinese students compositions. The reason is that in Chinese, there is no plural mark o

26、f a word except for the expression combining a number plus a measure word. In the 1960s and 1970s language transfer encountered skepticism. Firstly, empirical studies have shown that contrastive analysis can not always make exact predictions of ease and difficulty. Secondly, since the 1970s, cogniti

27、ve approaches to foreign language learning have been in the ascendant, and error analysis in particular has attracted a great deal of attention. Selinker (1972) even put out a new concept called inter-language. However, in the latest few decades, many linguists have regained their interest in this f

28、ield. As Faerch and Kasper claimed, “Within a cognitive paradigm, transfer has been conceptualized as a problem-solving procedure, or strategy, utilizing first language knowledge in order to solve a learning or communication problem in second language”9243. That is to say, transfer is not just a mec

29、hanical transference of first language structures into second language, but rather a complex cognitive mechanism involving many factors. There is overwhelming evidence that “language transfer is indeed a real and central phenomenon that must be considered in any full account of the second language a

30、cquisition process”9251. For Chinese English learners, transfer can be easily recognized from their compositions. Especially for English major students, as they tend to form a fossilized way of using certain wrong patterns to express ideas. Their fossilized way of using English can be called their i

31、nter-language. As Rod Ellis put it, “the first language can have a direct effect on inter-language development by influencing the hypotheses that learners construct”. According to McLaughlin, transfer errors results from learners lacking the necessary information in the second language or the attent

32、ional capacity to activate the appropriate second-language routine 9260.In his newly published paper, Odlin mentioned that “All language acquisition takes place in a social matrix, and so it will be useful to consider some of the social factors relevant to transfer”9452. It echoed one of Lados sugge

33、stions that contrastive analysis of two languages should be examined under cultural background. So in this study, the discussion of language transfer would mainly be put in the social and cultural background.2.1.1 Contrastive AnalysisFrom 1940s to 1960s, researchers had systematically done contrasti

34、ve analysis. They believed that if they could identify similarity and differences between native language and target language, they would find a more effective teaching method. As one of the best applied linguists of the time, Charles Fries stated it this way, “The most efficient materials are those

35、 that are based upon a scientific description of the language to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner”1052.According to Lado, “Individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native la

36、nguage and culture to the foreign language and cultureboth productively when attempting to speak the language and to act in the culture and receptively when attempting to grasp and understand the language and the culture as practiced by natives” 1053.Traditionally, contrastive analysis has been used

37、 to predict and explain learners problems in second language learning. Those learning problems are caused by linguistic differences and cultural differences between two languages. With the help of contrastive analysis, teachers could predict problems and plan a more efficient class. For the learners

38、, its also beneficial to use contrastive analysis to avoid same errors.2.1.2 Inter-languageInter-language, as its name betrays, is a linguistic system that has been developed by the learner of a second language who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language. Larry S

39、elinker proposed the theory of inter-language (1972), noting that in a given situation the utterances produced by the learner are different from those native speakers would produce had they attempted to convey the same meaning 10209. According to Selinker, one of the major issues for which

40、 any description of inter-language must account is the phenomenon of fossilization. Fossilizable linguistic phenomena are linguistic items, rules and subsystems which speakers of a particular native language will tend to keep in their inter-language relative to a particular target language, no matte

41、r what the age of the learner or amount of explanation and instruction he receives in the target language1160. Inter-language is a static language system while transfer language is a dynamic one.A new branch of inter-language is inter-language pragmatics which refers to the study of non-native speak

42、ers use and acquisition of linguistic action patterns in a second language 122. For example, Chinese students no longer engage in ritual refusal required by traditional Chinese culture in response to invitations and offers they actually wish to accept. 2.2 Cultural TransferAccording to Webster Engli

43、sh Dictionary, the word “language” is described as a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings. In this way, language is defined as an indivisible part of conventional life in a community or country

44、, which means its deeply influenced by that community or countrys culture. To give a simple example, a Chinese student wrote in her composition, the title of which is How to Overcome Shyness, that “please go out and embrace the society”. In China, most people concern shyness simply as a kind of pers

45、onality. However, westerners attitude towards shyness is more serious. They treat shyness as a psychological problem and will give professional help to people who suffer from it. Rather than simply ask shy people to go out and embrace the society, westerners will ask the society to go in to shy peop

46、les hearts and give them a hug. Thus a social phenomenon can be easily recognized that western society cares vulnerable groups and shows respect to them. This example can be related to an important principle called the linguistic relativity principle (also known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). In th

47、e late 1980s and the early 1990s, advances in cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics renewed interest in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. One of those who adopted a more Whorfian approach was George Lakoff13. He insisted that people use language metaphorically and various

48、 languages use their typical inherited metaphors which clearly reflect speakers thoughts and the way they created them. Take English metaphors for example. They often liken time with money, while other languages may not do the same thing. Based on general human experience, other metaphors may be com

49、mon to most languages. In some languages, people use “up” to mean good and “down” to mean bad. Lakoff thinks that metaphor acts as a key role in politicians languages. They would often argue over the things like the “right to live”. Different cultural concepts and categories can be inherited in thei

50、r relative languages. And they will be influenced cognitively. Thats why people speaking different languages think and behave differently. For example, when discussing “illegal deeds” or “unregistered companies”, people would argue using typical metaphors in their languages.From Lados (1957) propose

51、d objectives of comparative analysis, “to compare the two languages and cultures aims to discover and describe the use of a language”, we can see how important it is to take cultural study into consideration. Unfortunately, Lados proposal did not receive a positive response; even his own comparative

52、 analysis of the actual work of more or less ignored this goal. Although people are now aware of the importance of cultural comparison, existed researches are still confined at the theoretical level, from which only a handful of them are really and truly based on cultural background of language. In

53、this thesis, the author will try to explore the cultural reason behind errors, especially verbal collocation errors, which appear in students compositions. As mentioned before, cultural transfer is a part of language transfer. To conduct a research on language transfer must include a careful insight

54、 on cultural transfer and vice versa.3. Verbal Collocation3.1 General Studies on Verbal CollocationThe study of collocation started in a real sense in 1957. J. R. Firth said, “Meaning by collocation is an abstraction at the syntagmatic level and is not directly concerned with the conceptual or idea

55、approach to the meaning of words. One of the meanings of night is its collocability with dark” 14144. It was he that first used the term “collocation” in its linguistic sense. J. R. Firth is often quoted having said “you know a word by the company it keeps (Firth, 1957). Knowledge of appropriate col

56、locations is part of the native speakers competence. Collocation therefore deserves to be a central part of vocabulary learning. Effective performance of ESL learners depends on their stock of conventional collocations, which are characterized by varying degrees of restrictedness. The most comm

57、only shared definition of collocations is: the tendency of one word to co-occur with one or more other words in a particular domain 1516. Collocation study is a very important aspect of Firthian linguistics. Firths notion of collocation should be viewed against the background of his general theory o

58、f meaning. It is one of his considerations of the syntagmatic aspects of a lexical items meaning potential. It is one aspect of his interest in the notion of predictability in discourse. It also reflects his general philosophical thought that language is by nature “on-going”. Firths definition has become the basis for many studies, including the corpora-based researches on word frequency and collocation 1616.In a book specifically written about collocation, the word was defined like this: Collocation is the co-occurrence of t